What are the most common trailer specs?

[PhotoWrangler]

After looking at probably hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures over the last week or two, and starting with the idea of a teardrop style and progressing to the decision for a box with RTT, I've got a few questions before laying out plans. We aren't into extreme four wheeling (i.e. rock crawling etc) so I don't want to build anything tank like, but I'd like to get out of paved camp grounds as much as we can, so I need something with slightly more stability than normal. A few questions I had were:

It looks like 4' is the most common width's for trailers, are there any disadvantages to going slightly wider like 5' or 6'?

The most common suggestion I see is 11g tubing, how does this compare in stability to steel angle? I'm thinking of using 2x2 tubes for the frame, and angle for the walls and roof.

Thanks!

 

[Billiebob]

Width, no wider than the tow vehicle so you can stick with the stock mirrors, no narrower either so you can see it backing up. If you are sleeping in it, how wide do you want your bed, 60" is pretty nice, same size as a regular queen bed.

Frame I'd go tubing everywhere, heavier for the chassis, lighter/smaller for the walls/roof. I'd not even consider angle. Look at the spec for some manufactured trailers similar to your build. Generally home bilts are excessively heavy. The best manufacturers tend to actually engineer theirs.

Tubing at the same weight per foot as angle is far more structurally stable.

 

[smritte]

I went 5ft box width. I can use a full size mattress and my axle is the same width as my tow rigs. Figure out how much sleeping area you need, tow vehicle width and start there. Inside height, i went 4ft. I can buy one of the Tri fold mattress and have a small couch then fold it down for a bed. The sleeping area length is 6'3". Im 5'10". A full size mattress is 6ft (ish)

Now ask yourself, what do you need the inside for? Just sleeping? You can get away with a lower roof line. I wanted to be able to sit up. I looked up the height of the tri fold mattress, sat a bucket that height down and measured.

What are your walls going to be made of? Wood, metal, fiberglass? I went with 5mm wood so I needed a few more braces to make it rigid. I don't remember the metal thickness off hand (thinwall), you can look at my build thread. I went with 2X4 for the main frame, 1X2 and 1X1 for the box because i'm using structural adhesive to glue the panels on. More bonding area. The 1x1 and 1x2 are thin wall for weight. I went with a taller frame because I wanted to drop the inside floor and have 4" extra room inside. It didnt work out like I wanted so I should have stayed with my original 1X3. If I went smaller on the overall trailer, I would have went 2X2. When I ran the math, I have less flex and the same weight going rectangle, thin wall compared to slightly thicker square.

If you end up with a traditional round teardrop, it will be all 1/2 wood. Tiny teardrop web site is a good spot for build answers. Its not real active but a good place for ideas. When your ready for windows and doors you want Challenger door for your door (don't sell windows) and I used Amazon for my windows. Rec Pro is the vendor and I found their prices beat most people on the other things I needed too. Before you order your doors, sent me a PM and I'll give you the info that you don't see on how to properly measure. Everything you read is how to measure and replace an existing door. Now that I know, I would have modified my size.

Look at my build thread in my sig. I tried to be as detailed about the build as possible. I also spent almost a year researching most of the build parts. The July heat and Covid have put me almost 3 months behind but, I should be done and ready for Fall camping.